Waypoint to Unveil EnZone Wireless Power System for Autonomous Robots at MODEX 2018

Waypoint Robotics will launch its latest product in front of supply chain and manufacturing industry leaders gathered in Atlanta for MODEX 2018 — the largest supply chain expo in North and South America.

The April 9-12 expo will feature over 850 of the world’s leading providers of efficiency-enhancing and cost-cutting equipment and technology solutions designed to future-proof supply chain operations.

Waypoint will be on hand at Booth #C2549 to officially launch EnZone, a wireless power system for autonomous mobile robots, designed specifically to make robots easier to setup and use. Because of its unique features and Waypoint’s hallmark ease of use, EnZone was nominated for an MHI Innovation Award.

EnZone is more than just your average charging dock — its high-power wireless connection allows for “opportunity charging,” giving your robot the capability to charge anywhere and any time it is paused during its regular work cycle. This capability means you can keep your robot operating for longer periods of time, without having to take it out of service for charging. And that means you can forget about batteries and charging, so you can focus on more important things.

But EnZone is about so much more than battery charging. The Waypoint EnZone enables on-demand wireless power for payloads such as robot arms, conveyors, or other equipment. By supplying power to these systems only where needed, Waypoint can reduce the cost, space, weight, and maintenance required for cobot mobile manipulation systems.

Benefits specific to Waypoint’s EnZone Wireless Charging Dock:

Fully autonomous system — Robots charge themselves when they are in the EnZone — no human intervention is required.

EnZone has “many to many” architecture — Any robot can charge from any EnZone or one robot can move between multiple EnZones.

EnZone is dynamically configurable via a software API — You can adjust the charge rate for each charging cycle to charge fast when you need to, or slower when you have more time. This allows for optimizing configurations for increased battery life and better overall power management across the robot fleet.

EnZone uses WiBotic’s Adaptive Matching technology — it provides consistent wireless power even if the robot doesn’t dock in the exact same position each time. The system is flexible enough to allow the robots and EnZone to be substantially misaligned in the vertical, horizontal or angular directions without a decrease in power transfer.

EnZone is a software-defined power system and is designed to work with any robot. If you have a fleet of different robots, even with different battery chemistry or voltages, the Waypoint EnZone can be used with all of them.

Also being launched at MODEX is the Waypoint Whistle, a common sense robot controller that empowers today’s workforce by putting a robot at their beck and call.

Stop by Booth #C2549 to check out the latest in robotics products from Waypoint, as well as live demonstrations of Waypoints mobile autonomous robot — Vector.